Pokémon, Ash is going to become a perfect man from now on.

They chatted and laughed all the way to the trophy exhibition room. Xiaoyao immediately saw the trophy placed in a glass case and her eyes lit up.

After explaining the situation to the security guard at the entrance, she immediately rushed over excitedly.

"Haha, this is the ribbon trophy!"

slap~

An embarrassing thing happened. Whether it was because the trophy was too brittle or because of the impact on Xiaoyao's body, one of the trophy's handles broke off on the spot, right before her astonished eyes!

"Oh no... how did it break?" Xiaoyao was immediately at a loss.

With such a big incident, the competition organizing committee was naturally alarmed. Watching Conkenstein carefully examine the ribbon trophy, Xiaoyao's heart was pounding with nervousness.

"No, this is a fake!" Conkenstein said, frowning. "If it were a real trophy, there would be a special stamp from the organizing committee on the inside!"

This answer relieved Xiaoyao, but it made everyone tense.

If the trophy is a fake, then Banai has already succeeded!

Officer Jenny immediately began preparing for the search, and May and the others joined in, creating the golden Poké Balls that were spray-painted like in the anime in an attempt to lure Bannail out.

Ash, however, felt something was amiss. Banay's current identity wasn't that of a Phantom Thief; he was still acting on behalf of Team Magma...

Was he just bored out of his mind to steal a trophy that was only symbolic?

While Officer Jenny and the others were busy, Ash took Luca back to the trophy room to see if they could find any clues.

"So, did you find anything?"

“Luca…” After using the waveguide to enhance his sense of smell, Luca immediately looked like he had seen a ghost.

It smelled a familiar scent, and it's certain that Ash is even more familiar with that scent!

"How could it be her?!" Xiao Zhi was completely dumbfounded.

But thinking about it, it makes sense. The King of Masks has Ditto, and she has Ditto too, so she's essentially the King of Masks...no problem~

Having confirmed that the incident was caused by their own people, Ash decisively activated his Aura and followed the guidance onto the deck.

"I didn't expect you to find out." The guy disguised as the captain was waiting at the ship's side.

Upon seeing Ash, it couldn't help but snort coldly... However, Ash knew very well that the 'Thousand Faces King' was Ditto in disguise, and the voice was being made by someone in the dark using a voice changer.

"I have to say... you hid it way too carelessly~" Ash strolled into the shadows of the cabin and, sure enough, found the girl with a mischievous grin on her face.

"Otherwise, I'm afraid you won't be able to find it... um~"

Without giving the girl a chance to say anything witty, Ash released her after a long, deep kiss that left her breathless.

"How did you suddenly end up on this ship?" Ash asked, hugging Blue.

"I was helping Little Green with a mission, and I happened to find out your schedule, so I arranged this operation," the girl said with a playful smile.

"What is the mission?"

"Imitating Team Magma to do things to keep the attention," Blue explained. "Based on our recent observations, Team Magma and Team Aqua's movements are unusual... From the outside, it looks like they're going to disband, but they're actually plotting something else."

"So that's the trick you guys came up with?" Ash was both amused and exasperated.

This is truly taking the villain's path, leaving the villain with nowhere to go.

The Water and Fire Organization wanted to disappear, but Little Blue made a high-profile comeback in their place. Crimson Pine and Water Wutong are probably furious!

"Anyway, that's the situation. They're coming soon. Let's put on this show together... *kiss*" After giving Ash a light peck on the corner of his mouth, Blue pushed him away and started secretly making all sorts of threats for Ditto.

May and Officer Jenny arrived on the deck and joined Ash, successfully cornering Inteleon.

"Hahaha, you guys are not bad~" In Xiao Lan's double act, Ditto deactivated the captain's transformation and transformed into the appearance of the Thousand Faces King.

It faced the crowd with an arrogant expression and suddenly threw the ribbon trophy away.

While Officer Jenny was frantically trying to catch it, it activated the rocket launcher on its back and leisurely ascended into the air.

"This thing isn't worth much, so I'll return it to you!"

"Remember this, Team Magma will reign supreme once more, hahaha!"

Chapter 916 The Final Piece of the Puzzle, Green Ridge Universe Center

"You guys got lucky this time, so let's call it a day!"

"Remember this, the Aqua Team will one day reign supreme over the oceans again, hahaha!"

...

The news was broadcasting breaking news, and what the special operations team member from the Aqua Team said was exactly the same as what happened to the 'Thousand-Faced King' not long ago.

The Water and Fire Organization seems to be making a comeback, plunging Hoenn into chaos once again.

In contrast, the overall security situation in Hoenn has improved considerably compared to before.

The Hoenn League's official system has been basically torn apart by Ash, with only Steven barely holding it together... otherwise, they wouldn't even be able to hold the League Conference and large-scale festivals.

Those directors and family heads have now become the biggest cancer in the entire Hoenn!

They were all planning to loot and run away, so they wouldn't care about the news of the Water and Fire Organization's resurgence...

But Daigo had to take it seriously, so he decisively brought in external forces to help him.

The so-called external forces naturally refer to Interpol, as well as regional forces in Kanto, Alola, and other areas willing to provide friendly assistance to Hoenn.

This is tantamount to openly betraying Hoenn, but Daigo has no choice.

With the intervention of these external forces, the security of Hoenn can indeed be guaranteed, and many families that want to take revenge on society will behave themselves.

Serious incidents such as the green-haired boy's car accident and the glamorous idol being secretly followed have been contained in the open.

That's why it's always the people on your own side who are reliable.

Blue and Gary only used the villains' identities to cause some trouble, which put the Water and Fire Organization back on Interpol's blacklist. While ensuring the stability of Hoenn, they also accelerated Ash's infiltration of his forces, achieving three goals at once.

Ash often thinks that the reason why those who were his enemies all ended up suffering a crushing defeat was probably because they didn't have such a reliable partner...

The Saint Blossom continued its journey, and after passing through the 125th waterway, Ash and his friends temporarily disembarked in Desmondville.

This small island, located in the northeast corner of Hoenn, is not only home to the Mossdeep Gym, but is also widely known as Hoenn's only rocket launch center.

However, the Green Ridge Space Center has not launched a rocket for many years and has basically become a purely ground-based research institute.

All of this stems from the previous Rayquaza capture plan.

The enraged dragon god sealed off the sky, and also blocked Hoenn... no, the entire world's exploration of the universe!

Since that day, no rocket or satellite in the entire world has been able to launch into space.

The space technology in the Pokémon world had already advanced to the stage of manned lunar landings, but now it can't even do the most basic thing of launching satellites, leaving only a few ancient satellites floating in the sky.

Ash and his friends proceeded along the road toward the giant rocket launch pad and soon arrived at the entrance to the center of the universe.

After explaining their purpose, they were led to a conference room.

After a short wait, Ash met the two leaders of the Space Center, as well as Sabrina, whom he hadn't seen for many days.

"Ash!" Sabrina immediately stepped forward and turned to Ash's side upon seeing this.

"You've worked hard. Is everything going smoothly?" Xiao Zhi asked with concern.

"Yes, it can be cured." Sabrina nodded, then snuggled up to Ash without saying a word.

"I'm sorry, you two must have found this amusing," Xiao Zhi said apologetically, nodding to the two middle-aged men.

"It's alright. On the contrary, I must thank Mr. Ash and Ms. Sabrina." The one who spoke was Dr. Solans. "Thanks to Ms. Sabrina, my father's spirits have improved a lot... Although he still doesn't fully recognize me, at least he doesn't always hug that doll anymore."

"That's helpful." Ash nodded with satisfaction. "So... Professor, are you satisfied with my approach?"

"That's all right, thank you so much for your trouble," Solans said with immense gratitude.

"Let's get down to business... This is Mr. Keane, the head of the Space Center, right?" Ash turned to another middle-aged man. "As far as I know, in the original plan, the main body of the super weapon 'Flower' was modified using your center's rocket?"

"We...we are truly ashamed." Keane lowered his head, filled with regret. "When the plan was implemented, I was just an ordinary astronaut. The seniors at the center dreamed of being able to freely explore the universe, and we were filled with anticipation too...but we never imagined it would end like that..."

"Mr. Ash, we desperately want to get out of this predicament and return to space!" Gene pleaded with Ash. "We, the center of the universe, are willing to apologize to Rayquaza and the Meteorites and offer compensation, only asking that they show leniency and give Rocket a chance to launch..."

"Mr. Keane, if I may be so bold... the people you should apologize to are all the space workers in the world!" Ash's tone gradually became stern. "Because of the greed of the Hoenn League's higher-ups, humanity's exploration of the universe has come to a standstill!"

"Besides, do you really need me to spell it out... what were those so-called seniors who agreed to participate in the plan back then really thinking?!"

"This..." Gene was speechless for a moment. Only then did he realize that Ash had already seen through that group of people from back then.

Every family or organization involved in the Rayquaza capture project could come up with a bunch of high-sounding reasons, whether it was for the future of Hoenn or for the progress of humanity.

In reality, everyone had their own selfish motives.

Larousse aims to seize technology, Devon aims to monopolize infinite energy, and the Great Violet aims to revive... while the Green Ridge Universe Center also harbors grand ambitions.

Once the Sky Dragons are completely under the control of Hoenn, our counterparts in other regions will have to rely on them if they want to explore the universe.

“We will definitely apologize publicly… to the whole world.” Keane’s tone was heavy, and his face was full of anxiety.

If he lowered his head like that, his reputation at the Green Ridge Universe Center would definitely plummet... but even so, Keane dared not utter a single complaint.

Ash has now mastered Rayquaza and achieved the ambition that his predecessors could not, so he has to be mindful of Ash's feelings.

"Okay, but when you apologize, remember to do it in your own name and add some substance. Also, don't mention the Meteor Dwellers; they don't need this apology." Ash casually instructed, but his words carried a hidden meaning.

“I understand now!” Keane nodded hastily.